Celtics And Raptors Avoid Pointless Overtime Thanks To Comical Ending

Last week, I found myself watching a Nets-Wizards preseason game (can you tell how basketball-starved I am?) that went to overtime — on a buzzer-beating put-back dunk, no less. After a failed game-winning shot attempt by the Mirza Teletovic, players and coaches on both sides donned the dreaded “do we really have to play overtime in the preseason?” look on their faces. To make matters worse, the poor Wizards were hopping on a flight to Brazil immediately after the game.

Fast forward to Wednesday night, and a matchup between two bad-to-middlin’ Eastern Conference teams: Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics. The Raptors led by 12 with 3:25 remaining, but the Celtics mounted a furious comeback, cutting the lead to two with ten seconds left. The Raptors’ miss a wide open fast break dunk that would have iced the game, after which Jordan Crawford launched a deep three for a meaningless win. His ensuing air ball was caught by Jared Sullinger, who followed with a “screw you guys, I’m going home” layup attempt that barely grazed the front of the rim.